Consistently Inconsistent

It's good to be consistent. Organizations need constant, unwavering purpose. Leaders need to give consistent messages. Managers and employees should be consistent, both day-to-day and in comparison to each other. Heck, we even want our customers to be consistent.

Unfortunately, most of the people we deal with are human beings, and the only consistent thing about human beings, is that they are inconsistent.

It is inevitable that you will be inconsistent from day to day - you have different moods; changing health; different personal and professional worries; different levels of hope, happiness, stress and engagement; different energy levels; different interactions with people at home, on the way to work, and at work; different situations to deal with.

It is also inevitable that all of the people you deal with will be inconsistent from day to day.

If you're in a great mood, you can handle almost anything with a gracious smile. If you're in a bad mood, the smallest incident might trigger an angry outburst. This is inconsistent, right? This is bad, right?

Actually, this is the Principle of Inconsistency, as introduced by Dr. Thomas Gordon, founder of the Effectiveness Training movement (http://www.gordontraining.com/). As a human being, you will experience inconsistent feelings toward your coworkers, your boss, your employees. Accepting this principle can eliminate a great deal of stress and anxiety and simply recognizing this can make your work life a great deal less difficult. You will never eliminate inconsistency, but if you learn some tools and techniques to make you more effective, you can help eliminate some of the resulting conflict and negative consequences.

So while you strive for consistency, remember that you're human. Get out there and be consistently inconsistent! (Not to be confused with incontinent.)